Sharon Smith

Sharon (Schultz) Smith, age 62, peacefully passed away while surrounded by her loving family on Sunday, April 2, 2017, at Morristown Medical Center after a long illness. Born in Brooklyn, New York on March 27, 1955 to the late James and Dorothy Schultz, Sharon has lived in Wantage for most of her life. She was a homemaker for many years and worked for the Sussex-Wantage Regional School District as a teacher’s assistant from Nov. 1, 1996, until her retirement on July 1, 2012.
Sharon was an active Auxiliary member of the American Legion Post 213 of Sussex. She was predeceased by her niece, Stacey Hopkins of Albany, Georgia on March 4, 2013 and a brother, James Schultz on Aug. 27, 1999. Sharon is survived by her husband, Dennis Smith; her two sons, Brian Yanecko and his wife, Lisa, of Wantage and Kevin Yanecko and his wife, Jessica, of Branchville; her step-son, Dennis Smith and his wife, Lee Ann, of Wantage; her sisters, Darlene Taylor and her husband, Marvin, of Albany, Georgia, her twin sister, Karen Conklin, and her husband, Ernest, of Wantage, and Dorothy “Dee” Pakestein and her husband, Charles, of Wantage, her brother, Brooks Schultz and his wife, Karen, of Dingmans Ferry, PA; her step-brother, Jamie Schultz of Pocono Lakes, PA; her sister-in-law, Lisa Schultz of Bushkill, PA; her grandchildren, Cloey and Charles Yanecko and Christian and Isabella Smith; and several nieces and nephews. A memorial gathering will be held on Saturday, April 15, 2017 at 1 p.m. at the Sussex Fire Department, 25 Loomis Avenue, Sussex with Pastor Craig Spears, officiating. Arrangements have been entrusted to the Pinkel Funeral Home, 31 Bank Street (Route 23), Sussex. In lieu of flowers, the family requests that memorial donations may be made to The American Legion Post 213, P.O. Box 447, Sussex, NJ 07461 or to the Wantage United Methodist Church, 199 Libertyville Road, Wantage, NJ 07461. Online condolences may be offered to the family at www.pinkelfuneralhome.com.
“God saw you getting tired
And a cure was not to be
So he put his arms around you
And whispered “come to me.”
With tearful eyes we watched you
As you slowly slipped away
And though we loved you dearly
We couldn’t make you stay.
Your golden heart stopped beating
Your tired hand puts to rest
God broke our hearts to prove to us
He only takes the best."
By Frances and Kathleen Coelho